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INDIANA 
STATE  NORMAL 
LIBRARY 

DEDICATION,  JUNE  21,  1910 
9:30  A.  M. 


Terre  Haute 
Indiana 


0 2_"1  2.£ 

BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


William  H.  Armstrong, 
James  H.  Tomlin,  . . 

Robert  J.  Aley,  . . 

Joshua  Jump,  . . . 

Benjamin  F.  Louthain, 


Indianapolis 
. Evansville 
Indianapolis 
Terre  Haute 
. Logansport 


President  of  the  Faculty 

William  Wood  Parsons 


Vice-President 

Howard  Sandison 


Dedication  Committee 
Professors  Arthur  Cunningham 
John  J.  Schlicher,  Frank  S.  Bogardus 
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LIBRARY  STAFF 


Librarian 

Arthur  Cunningham 

Assistant  Librarians 

Anne  Claire  Keating 
Mabel  E.  Marshall 
Helen  M.  Crane 
Carabelle  Greiner 
Mary  Zollinger 

Janitor 

Charles  W.  Call 


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PROGRAM  OF  DEDICATION 

Captain  W.  H.  Armstrong,  Presiding 

Music. 

Prayer F.  W.  Hixson 

Retrospect,  President  W.  W.  Parsons 
Address  . Dr.  Demarchus  C.  Brown 

“ The  World  of  Men  and  the  World  of  Books  ” 

Music. 

Prospect, 

Librarian  Arthur  Cunningham 

Music. 

Inspection  of  the  Building 


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MAIN  FLOOR  PLAN 


THE  NEW  LIBRARY 


The  new  library  of  the  Indiana 
State  Normal  School  is  now  finished — 
a model  of  beanty  and  convenience. 
The  contract  for  this  building  was  let 
August  6,  1907,  to  Mr.  August  Ohm, 
and  was  received  by  the  board  of  trus- 
tees December  17,  1909,  thus  requir- 
ing nearly  two  years  and  a half  for  its 
construction. 

The  legislature  of  1907  appropri- 
ated $99,970  for  this  purpose,  but 
other  sums  have  been  taken  from  gen- 
eral funds  of  the  institution,  from 
time  to  time,  for  enlarging  the  site 
and  the  purchase  of  stacks  and  fur- 
nishings, until  the  total  cost  has 
necessarily  reached  nearly  $150,000. 

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The  result  is  the  handsomest  building 
in  the  state  devoted  to  library  pur- 
poses and  is  a durable  and  magnificent 
monument  to  its  system  of  public 
schools. 

In  planning  this  building  five  dis- 
tinct purposes  have  been  kept  con- 
stantly in  view:  (1)  safety;  (2) 

large  storage  capacity;  (3)  comfort 
of  the  readers;  (4)  convenience  of  ad- 
ministration; (5)  architectural  beauty. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  fifty  thou- 
sand volumes  now  on  the  shelves  have 
cost  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, two-thirds  of  which  have  been 
contributed  by  the  students  in  the 
form  of  a general  fee.  If  the  library 
were  now  destroyed,  years  of  effort 
would  be  required  to  gather  together 
such  books  and  place  them  in  the 
same  usable  condition,  and  certainly 
the  work  of  the  institution  would  be 
12 


crippled  for  a long  time,  since  the 
library  has  become  the  general  labora- 
tory, or  workshop  of  the  school.  Many 
of  the  books  could  not  be  replaced  at 
any  reasonable  cost,  inasmuch  as  they 
are  out  of  print  and  so  rare  as  to  be 
scarcely  obtainable.  These  facts,  as 
well  as  actual  experience  in  the  loss  of 
one  library,  induced  the  board  to  plan 
a fire-proof  building.  Stone,  brick, 
tile,  cement,  iron  and  glass  are  the  ele- 
ments of  construction  from  foundation 
to  roof,  wood  being  used  for  finishing 
purposes  only.  The  bookstacks  are  also 
of  iron,  steel  and  glass. 

During  the  first  eighteen  years  of 
the  institution’s  existence  less  than 
five  thousand  volumes  were  collected, 
all  of  which  were  destroyed  by  fire  in 
the  spring  of  1888.  In  the  next  seven- 
teen years,  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
quarters  in  the  main  building  in  1895, 
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ten  thousand  volumes  were  collected, 
more  than  double  the  number  of  the 
first  period,  and  during  the  last  fifteen 
years  forty  thousand  volumes  have 
been  added  to  these,  making  a present 
total  of  fifty  thousand  volumes.  In 
other  words,  the  average  yearly  in- 
crease during  the  first  period  was  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  volumes,  in 
the  second  period  five  hundred  and 
ninety,  and  during  the  recent  period 
twenty-seven  hundred  volumes  have 
been  annually  added  to  the  collection. 

These  figures  show  the  tendency  of 
the  library  to  increase  in  a geometrical 
ratio  and  the  consequent  necessity  of 
providing  liberal  storage  room  in  the 
new  building.  An  immediate  capacity 
of  one  hundred  thousand  volumes  and 
an  ultimate  capacity  of  double  this 
number,  without  in  any  way  altering 
the  building,  has  therefore  been  pro- 
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vided,  and  with  suitable  accretions, 
the  building  may  be  made  to  serve  the 
institution  indefinitely.  The  books  are 
now  shelved  mainly  in  a three-story 
stack  at  the  north  extremity  of  the 
building,  having  one  floor  on  a level 
with  the  general  reading  room,  one  be- 
low and  one  above.  There  is  room  for 
three  additional  stories  above  the  tiers 
now  in  place,  which  will  be  added 
probably  a tier  at  a time  as  occasion 
demands. 

But  the  books  would  avail  us  little, 
if  proper  provision  were  not  made  for 
the  comfort  of  the  readers  while  con- 
sulting them.  The  large  general  read- 
ing room,  60x80  feet,  is  therefore 
made  the  most  attractive  room  in  the 
building,  and  in  position  is  next  to 
the  stack.  It  is  approached  from  the 
front  of  the  building  by  a wide  corri- 
dor, lighted  from  above  by  a dome 
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supported  on  a series  of  marbleized 
columns,  and  floored  with  noiseless 
cork  carpet. 

Below  the  windows  on  the  east  and 
west  sides,  shelving  will  be  placed  in 
the  near  future  for  the  storage  of  the 
general  reference  books  and  such 
books  as  may  be  drawn  from  the  stack 
for  temporary  use  by  the  various  de- 
partments of  instruction,  the  object 
being  to  obviate  as  much  as  possible 
the  confusion  of  books  in  the  flack 
and  the  frequent  crossing  of  the  rooms 
to  the  disturbance  of  the  readers.  The 
most-used  books,  of  which  there  may 
be  a limited  supply,  are  issued  over 
the  charging  desk.  This  is  located  at 
the  end  of  the  corridor,  facing  the 
main  entrance,  and  thus  commands  all 
the  rooms  on  this  floor,  as  well  as  the 
stairways  leading  to  the  upper  and 
lower  floors. 


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The  stack  is  separated  from  the 
reading  room  merely  by  a series  of 
columns  and  by  counters  which  are 
used  for  the  temporary  consultation  of 
books  and  for  the  storage  of  maps, 
pamphlets  and  pictures.  Two  tiers  of 
the  stack  are  thus  made  completely 
visible  from  the  charging  desk,  which 
is  located  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
reading  room,  as  heretofore  mentioned. 
At  each  end  of  the  stack  is  a hand 
elevator  for  the  hoisting  of  books. 

To  the  left  of  the  stack  is  a small 
atlas  room  and  one  on  the  right  for 
the  temporary  storage  and  sorting  of 
pamphlets.  To  the  right  and  left  of 
the  corridor,  with  entrances  from  the 
reading  room,  the  offices  and  a large 
well-lighted  periodical  room  are  lo- 
cated. 

Handsome  stairways  of  marble  and 
bronze  rise  from  the  southeast  and 
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southwest  corners  of  the  reading  room 
to  the  second  floor  and  below  these 
are  stairways  to  the  basement. 

On  the  second  flo^r,  occupying  the 
front  portion  of  the  building,  are  two 
large  rooms,  one  for  the  children  of 
the  practice  school  who  are  taught  to 
make  regular  and  systematic  use  of 
the  library,  and  the  other  for  the 
special  storage  and  handling  of  art 
books,  rare  books  and  pictures.  Small 
seminar  rooms  for  the  use  of  profes- 
sors and  advanced  students  occupy  the 
sides  of  the  building,  while  the  cor- 
ridor about  the  rotunda  will  be  used 
as  an  art  gallery. 

In  the  basement,  provision  has  been 
made  for  a lecture  room,  binding  and 
storage  rooms,  cloak  rooms  and  closets. 

The  building  is  heated  successfully 
by  the  Paul  vacuum  system  of  steam 
heat  and  unusually  well  ventilated.  It 
18 


is  also  thoroughly  and  beautifully 
lighted  with  electricity,  including  table 
lights  on  the  main  floor. 

The  meaning  and  purpose  of  this 
building  is  well  typified  in  the  dome, 
which  sheds  its  beautiful  soft  light 
over  the  reading  room.  In  a setting  of 
opalescent  art  glass,  there  is,  in  the 
zenith  of  the  dome,  a reproduction  in 
oil  of  Raphaels  figure  symbolizing 
Philosophy,  which,  in  the  broad  medi- 
aeval usage,  included  all  the  liberal 
arts  and  sciences.  The  original  is 
found  in  the  ceiling  of  the  most  mag- 
nificently decorated  room  in  the  world, 
the  Camera  della  Segnatura  in  the 
Vatican  palace  at  Rome. 

Below  this  figure  there  is  a series  of 
twenty-four  wreathed  medallions  pierc- 
ed by  flaming  torches,  with  an  open 
book  in  the  center  of  each  wreath. 
Beneath  the  torches  are  the  names  of 
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noted  philosophers  and  educators  from 
the  earliest  to  the  present  time,  in- 
cluding the  names  of  six  Indiana  edu- 
cators, which  occupy  the  last  quadrant. 
It  seemed  fitting  to  represent  the 
school  in  this  list,  and  on  the  request 
of  the  faculty  and  hundreds  of  stu- 
dents, Dr.  Parsons’s  protest  was  over- 
ruled and  his  name  placed  in  the 
dome,  as  a tribute  to  his  long  and 
honorable  career  as  a student  of  the 
first  graduating  class  and  a life-time 
of  service  to  the  institution  and  the 
state. 

On  the  lower  part  of  the  dome  are 
inscriptions,  beginning  with  an  extract 
from  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  which 
gave  educational  freedom  to  the  North- 
west, “Education  shall  be  forever  en- 
couraged,” followed  by  another  ex- 
tract from  the  first  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  Indiana,  1816,  “Knowledge 
20 


and  learning,  generally  diffused 
through  a community,  essential  to  the 
preservation  of  a free  government.  ’ ’ 
Attention  is  here  also  called  to  the 
Constitution  of  1851,  which  gave  1 i A 
general  and  uniform  system  of  com- 
mon schools,  ’ ’ and  to  the  act  of  the 
legislature  of  1865,  which  established 
the  Indiana  State  Normal  School  for 
the  ‘ ‘ Preparation  of  teachers.  ’ ’ 

Not  less  attention  has  been  paid  to 
the  external  than  to  the  internal  ap- 
pearance of  the  building.  The  general 
style  of  architecture  is  Italian  renais- 
sance with  Ionic  pilasters,  built  of  In- 
diana limestone — chaste,  massive,  solid 
and  in  complete  accord  with  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  is  used.  Great  credit 
is  due  the  architects,  Messrs.  Alex- 
ander & Sons,  for  its  excellent  lines, 
harmonies  and  proportions. 


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